Mood:  lazy

S.

Galations 3:13 (NKJ) Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us (for as it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'.)

 "Hangs"=suspends, to keep from falling or sinking

"tree": from the Greek word, "scetarius"= A Roman ("strength") measure of capacity. 'STRENGTH'S CAPACITY'

O.

The 'curse' was having to work/sacrifice/do-it-yourself, in order to be right with God. A 'curse' is the calling down of evil onto someone. From the time of Adam and Eve's disobedience to God, humanity was cursed. Disobedience to God causes an open door to satan messing with us. But Jesus, the Chosen of God, traded His life for the 'curse/the evil' for us. Jesus took that 'evil/curse' suspended it on the cross with Him, and it died with Him. He arose but the curse stayed buried....IF we leave it there! Jesus did all is needed to be right with God again. Humanity can NOT do ANYTHING, physcially, to be right with God. But JESUS can...and DID! We rely on His works, not ours. We don't have enough capacity in our strength to work hard enough to be right with God. But Jesus, being God Himself, has more than enough strength. We rely on HIS strength and NOT our own.

A.

Jesus killed the need to 'work' to be right with God. Now I am to just rely on Him. I can see myself hanging in the air, kicking and wiggling, trying to get to God. But when I allow Jesus' Spirit to blow me, I easily get to where I need to go. Resting in the wind of the Spirit, He blows me where I need to go, what and who I need to touch.

P.

Jesus, Thank You! You made it so easy for me to rely on You. Show me how to lay aside all my human works and rest in what You have already done. Show me, Lord, how to always point to the Father, as You do!

Mood:  accident prone

S.

Psalm 38:12-

15 (NKJ) Those also who seek my life lay snares for me; Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction, And plan deception all the day long.13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear, And in whose mouth is no response.15 For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.

O.

Our enemies: Those who actually study us, looking for ways to ruin us, use their words in their desire to destroy us. They ponder and plot fraud against us all the time. They may be 'in disguise' so they may be hard to identify.

Our response: I keep silent. I stay 'tongue-tied'. I give them no heed or regard; no attention. I don't loosen my words to vent. In this way, I am a person who doesn't argue, give proof of my defense, correct or listen to 'ensnarers'.

Lessons learned for spiritual growth: to identify an attack from satan, to patiently wait in hope and expectation in God; to trust for God to respond and give us His attention in HIS timing; to not be offended. (an enemy tactic)

I have learned the lessons of enemy-identification, hope, faith, trust, patience, expectation, how to stand in peace, and rejection of offense.

A.

The enemy has come into my life in different forms. I am learning to identify his ways in order to know how to fight him. When it comes to offense, I am to close my mouth and my ears. Taking on offense is a sin, but God shows us in this scripture how to fight offense. Shut up and don't listen! I am waiting on God, for HE is my Defense!

P.

Thank You, Lord, for teaching me to wait expectantly for You. I know You pay attention to all that goes on in my life. I am waiting on YOU, Lord, and Your perfect planned timing!

 
  

Mood:  happy

S.

Galations 1:4 (NKJ)....who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,...

O.

Jesus died for our sins. But He also died for us in order to draw us out of the path of satan in this world. He came to draw us out and take us for Himself. He chose us. It is imminent that spiritual blindness and spiritual disease will happen, and has happened, as the world continues. What God, our Father, had in mind was to actively choose US for His purposes and to PLUCK US OUT, RESCUE US out of evil; out of satan's clutches. And so, He sacrificed His Son for this purpose...and WE are that purpose!

A.

Not only did Jesus die for my filthy sins, but He died because God chose to pull ME out of this world for Himself. He chose me to SAVE me from all the evil in this world. ME! Wow! He pulled me out of this filthy world to give me all that is good and pure and right. He 'plucked' me out of this world in order that my spirit may SEE clearly and that I may become WHOLE and complete, spiritually! Just as He meant for me when He first created me...eyes to see spiritually, ears to hear spiritually, heart to know spiritually, mind to understand spiritually. Just as it was for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden! Nancy, in Eden, walking with God....WHAT A PICTURE!

P.

This is awesome, Lord, that You actually plucked me out by choice. You CHOSE me! Thank You, Lord! THANK YOU FOR SAVING ME! Help me to always KNOW salvation...what it means in every detail and to be always grateful! You, Jesus, are MY HERO!

Mood:  bright

S.

Mark 16:17, 18 (NKJ) And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

O.

As read through Greek interpretation by me:

Jesus possitions me, by His authority and character (name) to be in a morally different course of nature than others in order to prove that He lives in me. If I trust in His conviction of Truth (believe) then I will eject from myself any evil minister or messenger of satan. ('cast out demons') I will speak with fresh, new words. (tongue) I will discern and receive cunning wisdom in my thoughts. ('take up serpents') I will receive into my soul (drink) only what nourishes it's eternal life, which sin can not harm or hinder. ('poison, deadly') With that kind of 'soul conditon', I am to pour out (lay hands on) onto the 'weaker souls of others'('sick') in order to create the appearance of moral beauty,('will recover') both on them and onto myself. This shows Jesus, both in me and those that are poured out onto.

A.

I've always been curious about this scripture. How can a person 'drink poison' and 'pick up snakes' and not be physically harmed? As I studied these scriptures out in Greek, it's meaning is clear! These are all spiritual things that have been hidden. They aren't to be taken to mean in the physcial sense, although God could do that if He wanted to. I had to dig these spiritual meanings out like hidden treasure. And now I understand! It's just what it says in my observation above! 'Drinking poison' is filling the soul with sin. 'Taking up snakes' is SEEING/THINKING like a snake...seeing with discernment or 'cunning wisdom'. And when my soul gets it, it is to pour out onto others the beauty it has found! ('lay hand on the sick (in spirit) and they will recover')

So NOW I get it!

P.

Thank You Father for giving me the tools and the curiousity that keeps me digging into Your Treasure Trove! Keep me curious, Father, for it feeds my spirit and gives me 'moral beauty'. And all because of Your Beautiful Son and Your Gorgous Spirit!

S.

Mark 15:15 (NKJ) So Pilate (''Armed with a Dart'), wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas ('Son of Shame/Confusion') to them; and he delivered Jesus ('Savior/Deliverer') after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.

O.

Pilate is a type of 'satan' here as one 'armed with a dart'. His desire and purpose was to impale God's 'Deliverer', Jesus, to keep Him inopperable. 'Satan' used the crowd as his 'vehicle'. They would publicly ask for 'Barabbas', the builder of the house of shame and confusion' to be freed and let loose on the earth. But Jesus, our Savior, took that 'shame and confusion' to the grave with Him. It is dead and buried!

A.

Satan uses people as vehicles. He uses them for his desires and purposes in order to let loose shame and confusion to people. But we, as lovers and believers of Jesus as our Savior, are to KNOW that Jesus took those to the grave and literally killed them. No shame or confusion has any right to us Believers because of Jesus. Satan tried to impale God's Salvation. But even through death, God gave our Salavation the victory. Jesus carried our shame and confusion to death with Him....and left it there as He rose again to bring us a new and free life.  

P.

Thank You, Jesus for freeing me from shame and confusion! Help me live fully freed in front of everyone I meet! Thank You for giving me victory! Because of You, I WIN!

Mood:  quizzical

S.

Mark 13:14-16 (NKJ) So when you see the abomination (an idol that stinks) of desolation (to lay waste, to isolate, an empty space, to strip of treasures), spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains (to keep the mind suspended) . Let him who is on the housetop (mind/thoughts) not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. And let him who is the field, not go back to get his clothes (that which he used for his own protection).

O.

Jesus was telling about the future, OUR future.

Daniel had prophesied that the 'admonition of desolation'...A STINKY IDOL, would stand where it isn't supposed to be. And it is stressed, here, THAT WE ARE TO UNDERSTAND THIS!!

Then, Jesus says, at THAT time, right when this happens, the people in Judah...in praise and confession... are to flee to the 'mountains', a position much higher than Jerusalem. They are not to return to 'get their clothes'.

 God's people, when the 'stinky idol' appears, are to go HIGHER and are to LEAVE THEIR OLD GARMENTS/COVERING, BEHIND!

What is 'the abomination of desolation" ?

Abomination: a stinky, destestable idol. Stinky, for the purpose of turning us away. An idol is anything that is excessively admired or/and excesively devoted to.

Desolaton: a lonely, isolated and empty space or chasm that is wasted and ruins; comes from the word meaning; 'to strip her of treasures'.

A.

I can have wasted spaces of isolated, lonely thoughts in my mind; a waste of thinking space. This is where 'stinky-idols' or 'stinkin' thinkin' can dwell in my thinking...a discusting, excessive admiration for something or someone that is positioned above godly thoughts. These thoughts take up a chasm of space that could be full of 'treasure-thoughts' but instead are 'excessing' about what isn't God.

Once I recognize that this is happening in my mind, I am to immediately confess these thoughts to God and then praise Him for HIS thoughts/treasure-thinking.

This place of confession and praise is an instrumental possition! Because in this possition, I am to shun these wasted, stinky thoughts, lifting my thoughts to God with expectation and excitment. I am NOT to be shamed, but am to guide my thoughts into the place under God's wings, the place where my 'I-can-do-it-myself' thoughts mean nothing. I am to suspend my thoughts to God and allow Him to form, filling that empty chasm.  

P.

Thank You, Father, that You know how we think and how to heal our thoughts! Holy Spirit, alert me to 'stinky-idol-thoughts' so that I can 'suspend my thinking' to the Father. Fill up my empty spaces, Father, with Your revelation and understanding!

Mood:  quizzical

S.

Mark 12:14-17 (NKJ) 14 When they had come, they said to Him, Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, ('severed') or not?

15 Shall we pay, or shall we not pay? But He, knowing their hypocrasy, said unto them, "Why tempt Me? Bring Me a penny that I may see it."

16 So they brought it. And He said to them, Whose image and inscription is this? They said to Him, Caesars.

17 And Jesus answered and said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are Gods. And they marveled at Him.

O.

These men, fake and acting as 'men of God', sought to catch Jesus in a breaking of God's Laws in order to make themselves look better in man's eyes. So they asked Him if they should pay taxes to Caeser or would that be putting Caseser before God. Jesus told them that what is owed to a man, pay to a man. What is owed to God, pay to God.

A.

Jesus saw right through these men. They were 'Pretenders; as actors on a stage'. What these men were really asking here was 'Should we reveal in public what we truly are on the inside?' Jesus told them to 'Give it to Me. I see who you truly are inside. I will change what is inside so that you can reveal it out in public'. This 'engraved image' is a parallel to the coin with Caeser's image on it. God created us in HIS image. We messed it up and no longer look like Him, inside or out. If we give our 'image' back to Him, through Jesus, He will form us, once again, into HIS likeness. We owe HIM and not man, for no matter how hard we try, we can not be what we were created to be by ourselves or through the teachings of men. We purchase our TRUE image by trading ourselves for our NEW image, created originally by God.

P.

Father, it's a trade-up from my old sinful self, to Your original creation of me. I want to trade-up, Father. Change me back to the original person You created me to be!

Mood:  amorous

S.

Mark 11:8-10 (NKJ)

And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord !

Blessed is the kingdom of our father David That comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

O.

Jesus was passing by them as He arrived into the 'City of Peace'. They had to do something to honor this 'Man' who had all the characteristics of Father God. They wanted to honor the way He lived here on earth; His 'walk of life'. They could soften His way. As the Son of the Father, He needed to be honored as the Son of a King. They had to make the 'way' into their city easier; straight and without any potholes or humps in the road. Yes, they asked God to bless this Man who held God's very own characteristics, God's very own authority. "HOSANNA!, Father God, FAVOR Your Son! For we adore Him!"

And they prepared the way for Him to enter.

A.

I adore Jesus, for He has been sent by God for me. I need to prepare the way to my heart for Him. I need to remove the 'holes' of sin and the 'humps' of pride. I need to lay it all down for Him. Then I sing, "Hosanna! in the Highest!

P.

Bless my Jesus, Father! For He is just like You... He IS You! Shape my heart into the way that is easiest for Him to enter, Father.

S.

Mark 10: 8,9 (NKJ) ...and the two shall become one flesh; so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore (as a result) what God has joined together let not man seperate.

O.

And the union shall become the Source...the First and the Beginning...like GOD! As a result , they won't be seperated but a UNITED human nature with the same physical and moral passions. And as a result of NOT being seperated, but untied as God is, what God unites in association, companionship and in completeness, let not human being, watching from a distance, divide or put a space between them...causeing a chasm between them.

A.

God can not seperate Himself. He is ONE! And as He is one, Kim and I are to be one, like Him! We can not be ever let anyone seperate us...no space, no vacancy between us. We are to stay meshed together in one human nature and human passion and frailities in our physical and moral natures. This is the commandment of God. No man looking on us from a distance is to seperate/divide our unity. For if we are to like God, we have to be cemented in unity!

P.

Father, as You are One, make us like YOU! United forever! No voids, gaps or vacancy between Kim and me!

S.

Mark 9:50 (AMP) Salt is good (beneficial), but if salt has lost its saltiness how will you restore (the saltiness to) it? Have salt within yourselves and be at peace and live in harmony with one another.

SALT=(dict.=an ELEMENT that gives liveliness or pungency; also, to cure or preserve

SALTINESS=(dict.=flavor, saline, piquant, interest, charm, sharpness, liveliness, wittiness, coarsness; also used to spread on to melt ice)

O.

Being full of life/the Word and being excited about it, is a benefit for us, personally. But if we loose that excitement, that zest for the Word and for Jesus, who can put it back into us? We are to take the refinement of life that comes through trials and turn it into joy....a ZEST, an EXCITEMENT! That's the SALT of life! Then we are to live in harmony with each other...a salt shaker full of ZESTY salt crystals, shaken up and spilling out!

I am only one grain of salt. I can not season 'food/life' completely by myself. I need OTHERS...so we can season 'food/life' with enough 'seasoning' so that it can be 'tasted' by others. Each of us, as one single grain of salt, can fill up a salt shaker and shake out the 'seasoning' that is needed to spice up the lives of others. But it does take MANY grains of salt to do that!

A.

I am to have this 'element of saltiness', the ZEST for LIFE IN JESUS, in my mind, heart and soul. And with this 'zestiness and liveliness' in me, I am to be in one accord with OTHER ZESTY and LIVELY pieces of SALTINESS! A WHOLE salt-shaker full of ZESTY-Jesus-loving-people, full of the excitment that God has given all of us, personally! God's Word is exciting...it needs to be lived out of me that way. I need to show and live out in full view of everyone, the zestiness, liveliness and excitement of God's Word that is IN me! Then I need to keep it shaken up INSIDE of me...so that ZEST can spill OUTSIDE! I need to stand with other 'zesty-salt-crystals' in order to be effective in this way.

P.

Father, Make me a grain of zesty, lively and excitng salt for You! Put me in accord with others who are like that, Lord, so we can raise up excitment in You!